The Man Thou Gavest eBook

He recalled his boyhood days when his uncle’s
distrust and apparent dislike of him had driven him
upon himself, almost taking self-respect with it.
He re-lived the barren years when, longing for love
and companionship, he found solace in a cold pride
that carried him along through school and into college,
with a reputation for hard, unyielding work, and unsocial
habits.

How desperately lonely he had been—­how
cruelly underestimated—­but he had made
no outcry. He had lived his years uncomplainingly—­not
even voicing his successes and achievements.
Through long practise in self-restraint, his strength
lay in deliberate calculation—­not indifferent
action. He hid, from all but the Kendalls, his
private ambitions and hopes. He studied in order
that he might shake himself free from his uncle’s
hold upon him. He meant to pay every cent he had
borrowed—­to secure, by some position that
would supply the bare necessities of life, time and
opportunity for developing the talent he secretly
believed was his. He was prepared, once loose
from obligation to old William Truedale, to starve
and prove his faith. And then—­his
breakdown had come!

Cast adrift by loss of health, among surroundings
that appealed to all that was most dangerous in his
nature—­believing that his former ambitions
were defeated—­old longings for love, understanding
and self-revealment arose and conquered the weak creature
he was. But they had appealed to the best in
him—­not the evillest—­thank God!
And now? Truedale raised his head and looked
about in the dim room, as if to find the boy he once
had been and reassure him.

“There is no longer any excuse for hesitation
and the damnable weakness of considering the next
step,” thought Truedale. “I have chosen
my own course—­chosen the simple and best
things life has to offer. No man in God’s
world has a right to question my deeds. If they
cannot understand, more’s the pity.”

And in that hour and conclusion, the indifference
and false pride that had upheld Truedale in the past
fell from him as he faced the demands of the morrow.
He was never again to succumb to the lack of confidence
his desolate youth had developed; physically and spiritually
he roused to action now that exactions were made upon
him.

CHAPTER X

The following day Truedale heard the will read.
Directly after, he felt like a man in a quicksand.
Every thought and motion seemed but to sink him deeper
until escape appeared impossible.

He had felt, for a moment, a little surprise that
the bulk of his uncle’s great fortune had gone
to Dr. McPherson—­an already rich and prosperous
man; then he began to understand. Although McPherson
was left free to act as he chose, there had evidently
been an agreement between him and William Truedale
as to the carrying out of certain affairs and, what
was more startling and embarrassing, Conning was hopelessly
involved in these. Under supervision, apparently,
he was to be recognized as his uncle’s representative
and, while not his direct heir, certainly his respected
nephew.